Trial continues for mom accused of letting baby starve to death

The 4-month-old who died of malnutrition and dehydration was about the same size as she was at 2 weeks.

To prosecutors, Lauren Gress is a neglectful woman. A woman with a reckless disregard for life. A woman who allowed her 4-month-old daughter to die of malnutrition and dehydration.

But to Gress' defense attorney, she's a young, single mother overwhelmed with raising her newborn twins and two other children. Gress is a woman who was trying to cope the best she could.

Today, an Orange County jury will continue to hear testimony in the state's case against Gress, a 24-year-old who faces charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect. The trial should run through Thursday and Gress is expected to testify.

Gress was arrested in March 2009 after the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office determined that her 4-month-old daughter, Brianna Morges-Gress, died of malnutrition and dehydration.

Brianna was found dead Nov. 16, 2008 and was about the same size she was at 2 weeks. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Brianna and her twin brother, Edwin Jr., weren't fed or handled for 14 hours before Brianna died, police said earlier. On Monday, prosecutors said the child was dead eight hours before Gress checked on her.

However, their older sisters, then ages 2 and 3, showed no signs of malnutrition and were in good health, officials said last year.

During his opening statement Monday, Assistant State Attorney Ryan Vescio told jurors that Gress' "inaction" resulted in her daughter's death.

"Ultimately, this is all about decisions," said Vescio, asking jurors to find her guilty on all counts. He said Brianna died and her twin brother almost died because of their mother's inaction.

Brianna was facedown and dead for eight hours before she was checked on, the prosecutor said.

Meanwhile, defense attorney Richard Hornsby cast Gress as a stressed young mother. The father of the newborns had legal problems and was sentenced to a prison term, leaving Gress alone with the kids, Hornsby said.

He said Gress was not given adequate instruction for how to deal with premature babies and could not afford the formula needed to properly feed the children.

"Should she have asked for help? Yes. But she didn't feel she had anyone she could reach out to," Hornsby said.

At times, during Hornsby's opening, Gress sobbed and sniffled.

Kevin Smith, an investigator with District 9 Medical Examiner's Office, told jurors he responded to the apartment on a dead child report and found Brianna lifeless in a bedroom. The baby lacked muscle mass and appeared "flaccid," he said.

"The baby was wrapped in a blanket on the bed," Smith testified Monday. "The child appeared to be undernourished. The child did not have a healthy appearance."

When asked by Hornsby how Gress was acting, Smith said, "She was crying. She was in shock."